Book picks similar to
Mantrum by Jacob Chance
romance
dnf
single-dad
rom-com
When the Time Is Right
M. Mabie - 2020
Hudson Bradley is the cockiest, most stubborn, hard-headed man I’ve ever known. And for fifteen years, he’s been my brother's best friend. But lately, what I’m feeling for him isn’t friendship at all.Why is my heart racing every time his blue eyes lock on mine?Why does every word he rumbles in my ear make my body come alive?And worst of all, why did I bet him that I could find a woman he and his son would both love? If I hadn’t given up on love altogether, Hudson would have been perfect for me. After all, he was there the day my world fell apart. He’s spent the last six years piecing me back together. There are a million reasons why we could never work, but after a single kiss, I can’t remember any of them. Now that the time is right, I have to make him mine—before I lose him forever.
Black Number Four
Kandi Steiner - 2015
Her sole focus for spring semester is to perfect her game and get tournament ready – and have some fun with her sorority sisters, of course. Meeting a care-free pledge with incredible arms adds a whole new element of fun to her semester, but when a shocking discovery about his past surfaces, Skyler finds herself stuck in a game she wasn’t prepared to play. Kip Jackson is on a mission from his father. His plan was to get in, have a little fun, and then get out – on to bigger and better things. A feisty girl with bright blue eyes wasn’t on his list of things to do, but she quickly moves her way up to the very top. When he realizes completing his dad’s mission means crushing her in the process, he must decide if his dreams are worth the risk – or if he even has the same dreams, at all.Two secrets. Two hearts. Two hands being played in one twisted game of deceit. When the cards are on the table, will anyone be left standing?The perfect poker face can only hide them for so long.
Bad Boy Daddy
Chance Carter - 2015
I needed a man.FaithThe first time I saw Jackson, I hated his guts. He was everything I could never have. Pure, panty-wetting, manhood. And I was trapped in a loveless relationship with his worst enemy. I never would have dreamed he craved my womb so badly he was willing to do anything for it.JacksonMy father's death taught me a lot of things. Most importantly, I needed a child. I had to have a son before my enemies caught up with me. So when Faith came begging for protection, I knew exactly what I wanted. I yearned for her body. Lust raged through me like a wildfire. I longed to make her pregnant with my child. I gave her an offer she couldn't refuse. A life for a life. My protection, in exchange for everything she had to offer. I'd die for her, but she would give me a son.I took her womb. I never suspected she'd take my heart.
Before Girl
Kate Canterbary - 2018
He's the guy who's loved her from afar. They're in for an unexpected tumble into love. She'll juggle your balls. For Stella Allesandro, chaos is good. She's a rising star at a leading sports publicity firm. She's known throughout the industry as the jock whisperer—the one who can tame the baddest of the bad boys in professional sports without losing her signature smile. But Cal Hartshorn is an entirely different kind of chaos. He'll fix your broken heart. This former Army Ranger and now-famous cardiothoracic surgeon fails at nothing…except talking to a woman he's adored from afar. Whether on the battlefield or operating room, he's exacting, precise, and efficient, but all of that crumbles when Stella is in sight. Cal always knows—and gets—what he wants, and now he wants all of her. His forever girl. But Stella isn't convinced she's anyone's forever.
The Start of Something Good
Jennifer Probst - 2018
As a former Special Forces paratrooper, he saw his fair share of conflict, and he came home with wounds, inside and out. At his sisters’ B & B and farm, he can keep all his pain at a safe distance. But quiet time isn’t easy when a fiery woman explodes into his life…It’s business—not pleasure—that brings Manhattan PR agent Mia Thrush reluctantly to the farm. Tightly wound and quick tempered, Mia clashes immediately with the brooding Ethan. Everything about him is irritating—from his lean muscles and piercing blue eyes to his scent of sweat and musk.But as the summer unfolds and temperatures rise, Ethan and Mia discover how much they have in common: their guarded histories, an uncontrollable desire, and a passion for the future that could heal two broken hearts. But will their pasts threaten their fragile chance at a brand-new future?
Revved to the Maxx
Melanie Moreland - 2020
Maxx Reynolds needs help.His shop, house, and life are all in a state of disarray.In desperation, he turns to the internet to hire a new employee, thinking it will make his life easierWhat he expects is a fellow named Charly.What he gets is a quirky, sassy, red-head namedCharlynn who runs circles around him.And she’s all woman.He can’t stand her.He can’t keep his hands off her either.
Grumpy Single Dad
Melinda Minx - 2021
The mustard-stained apron never suited her anyway. She looks a lot better in stockings and a pencil skirt.She's given me a list. “Smile.” “Tell people ‘good job.’” “No growling!” She doesn’t seem to understand that running a Fortune 500 company isn’t the same thing as selling sandwiches.She’s determined though, and determination is exactly what I’m looking for in my new assistant. So I’ll humor her and follow her little list, just long enough that she thinks she’s got me under control.But once I get her in bed, I’ll growl all I want.WENDYI’m going to tame the big bad Mr. Wolfe, and if I can’t break his iron fist, I’ll at least put a cute little mitten over it so he doesn’t hit his employees so hard.
Cocky Chef
J.D. Hawkins - 2017
But when you're the best at what you do and have the hottest restaurant on the west coast, with enough Michelin stars to make Gordon Ramsay's head spin, you've earned the right to your confidence.When I give an instruction in the kitchen, it's not a suggestion--it's an order. So when a new chef thinks she can do things her way, and dares to say so to my face, even her sharp wit and gorgeous pouty lips don't make it okay. But I have to admit, she's got talent. She's creative in the kitchen and not even that double-breasted chef jacket can hide her perfect body. As I get to know her, I can't help wanting to know everything she thinks. I've never met a more talented chef. And I've never met a sassier and sexier woman in my life. There's only one way this push and pull can end.With her in my bed, begging for more.
Until I Met You
Amanda Faye - 2021
Sebastian Ross knows a wounded warrior when he sees one. He thought his days of patching up soldiers were done when he left the Army. Then a bleeding beauty enters his ER. One with haunted eyes, a scarred body, and a military insignia tattooed into her skin. When she disappears without a trace, leaving a fake name behind, he makes it his purpose to track her down and make sure she’s safe.Cinder Bennet is a warrior. Foster homes, the military, she’s seen it all and survived. When her marriage turns violent, and its kill or be killed, she decides to run instead. She’s started over fresh before, after all. Her only mission is to stay under the radar. But then she meets the doctor with the kind eyes, and his determination for her safety takes her breath away.When Sebastian looks at Cinder, he doesn’t see a broken soldier with cracks in her armor from a hard-lived life, but a woman strong and proud. From the minute he lays eyes on her, he’s determined to be both her shield and her sword. To fill the holes in her heart—with him.
Eight Days a Week
Amber L. Johnson - 2014
After a recent promotion at work, she needs a caretaker for her children. She’s frenzied and in a lurch and pretty much ready to hire the first person who comes along. So she does.Andrew Lyons needs to get out of his sister’s apartment, and a Craigslist posting may be the answer to his prayers. But what he thought was an ad for a room rental turns into a job offer he can’t refuse. Accepting the nanny position could change his life, if only he had a clue how to be a grownup.A working mother, a shirtless manny who looks good in a towel, two children who need more than than a babysitter, and hours of kids’ TV can only spell disaster for everyone involved. Because a manny should always mind his own business. And he definitely shouldn’t fall in love with his boss.
Challenged by You
Tracey Jerald - 2020
Although she’s throwing herself into creating sweet delicacies with a twist at Seduction New York, nothing about her life is settled.And it’s made infinitely worse when a bad review puts her job on the line.Food critic Jonas Rice is infuriated when his review is accidentally switched. He personally goes down to assure the restaurant a retraction will be printed only to walk in on Trina being thrown out.Jonas finds Trina so he can personally apologize. What he doesn’t expect is to find himself face-to-face with a stubborn-as-hell, knockout who provokes him on every level.By the end of their first conversation, she’s daring him to lead her life for one month. Much to her surprise, he accepts with one major caveat — she agrees to beinginterviewed.In the end, will Trina be able to accept life isn’t always about rising to a challenge? Will she be able to find there’s joy in finding compromise — both in the kitchen and in Jonas’ eyes.
Number Neighbors
Emma Hart - 2020
In my defense, my friends did it too, and their neighbors took it as the joke it was. Mine didn’t. He responded with a dirty text of his own. Next thing I know, I have a standing texting date every night at ten-thirty. Until I have to miss it because the stray kitten who adopted me one week ago is sick. The only person I know who can help me at this time of night is my British next-door neighbor and local vet, Isaac Cooper. I’ll keep him overnight, he says. Here’s my number to call me in the morning, he says. The problem? I know that number. Because I’ve been texting it every night for the last four days...
Accidentally Married
R.R. Banks - 2018
Holly is mine.I'll protect her no matter what.
The Consequence of Falling
Claire Contreras - 2019
Not even my soon-to-be ex-husband is on that list. Nope. I save only the worst of the worst, the crème de la crème, the absolute I cannot even for this list . . .1. Black coffee2. Rude people3. Nathaniel BradleyWhich is why when my father informs me that he’s making Nathaniel Bradley his new business partner, and in turn, my boss, I flip out. 1. He’s an annoying know-it-all. 2. He calls me a spoiled princess every chance he gets. 3. He disapproves of everything I do.I go into this knowing I’ll hate every second in his presence. Except the longer he’s around, the more I find myself staring at his lips and remembering the one time they were on mine. I randomly find myself looking at his hands and wondering how they’d feel on my skin. I try to snap out of it, but I guess I’m not as smart as I thought I was. No matter how many times I remind myself of the times I’ve practically thrown myself at him and he’s pushed me away, I keep falling little by little.I’d always heard that it was a bad idea to mix business with pleasure and if that’s the case, this thing with Nathaniel has demise written all over it.
Forever Never
Lucy Score - 2021
Especially when they’re all the same woman.Under Brick Callan’s mile-wide chest beats a loyal heart with a few cracks in it. He’s the steadfast, overprotective type. Especially when it comes to the one woman he can never have. It’s a long, complicated history punctuated by fights, friendship, family, and an attraction that strains his iron willpower.When Remi Ford returns to Mackinac Island in the dead of winter with a secret, Brick makes it his mission to find out what put the shadows in those green eyes. Even if it means breaking down the walls he’s built between them. Even if it means falling for the one girl he’ll never get over.The free-spirited artist just needs to lay low for a few weeks so she can figure a way out of this nightmare. She’s definitely not staying. Not when the man who broke her teenage heart into splinters keeps showing up at her parents’ dinner table. Remi doesn’t need broody, bearded Brick riding to her rescue…again. Not when it will put them both in danger, costing them much more than their hearts.Author’s Note: Frenemies-to-lovers. Opposites attract. Slow burn. Girl in danger. Glorious, glorious banter. Fighting as foreplay. Small-town shenanigans. Big, grumpy, pining, overprotective hero. Wild-child, trouble-finding heroine who keeps on pushing the hero’s buttons. Steam Level: Lava. Suspense: Nail-biting. Feels: Big time.